The future
by ProFfeSseR
Summary: My thoughts on how Mulder and Scully ended up in that boat we saw on the short scene after the credits. Starts the evening Scully comes home the same day the movie ends. Spoilers for the X-Files 2 - I want to believe.


_A/N: The idea of this story came to me after reading some other fanfics and of course, after watching the movie. I couldn't help but wonder what happened in between the end of the movie, and the very short scene after the credits. So I decided to write down my thoughts on what happened. Hope you like it! Please read and review!_

**The future**

Mulder heard Scully's car pulling up the driveway and walked towards the window just in time to see her getting out. He couldn't help but notice how exhausted she looked. The events from the past few days were visible in her appearance. Her shoulders slumped a little and her eyes looked dull. He realized that today hadn't been any easier on her than the past few days.

He knew she'd been through a lot. Not only dealing with a hard case at work, but being drawn back into their old life. A life they ran away from six years ago and were slowly starting to forget. After they ran away from DC they drove around the country . Trying to stay out of the hands of the FBI, while searching for a way to deal with the truth. They finally ran into this house. And they were looking for a medical doctor in a catholic hospital no too far away.

They purchased the house and Scully got the job at the hospital and slowly they found a life they were both comfortable with. Until agent Drummy showed up.

Lost in his thoughts he hadn't heard her entering the house and only looked up when he heard her calling his name.

"Mulder, what are you doing?" She looked at him, curious.

"I was looking at you. I guess I got a bit distracted because I didn't realise you were already inside." He walked towards her and placed a light kiss on her lips. "How are you doing?" He asked, with a voice filled with concern.

She tried to force a smile but failed miserably. "I'm fine."

He knew from the way she looked away that she was lying. He gently put a finger under her chin and forced her to look at him. "You and I both know that's not true."

She sighed. He knew her too well. "Can we sit down?"

"Sure." He knew she needed a minute to collect her thoughts.

"Thank you." She took off her coat and hung it over a nearby chair, dropping her bag on the seat. Then she slowly walked to the couch and sat down next to Mulder, purposely leaving some space in between.

He waited until she started talking herself, but when she still hadn't said anything after a few minutes, he asked "How did the surgery go?"

"It didn't." She replied, this time looking at Mulder. "I told them I was ready but then I looked at Christian once more and realized that I couldn't do it. I couldn't put him through the pain and torture coming with this procedure. Not anymore. He looked at me with eyes that showed all his faith in me and I knew that it was my job to make the right decision. I realized that they'd been right all along, and that he was brought to me so that I could do what was best for him. And as much as I want to save him, I know that I can't. Maybe ten years from now we have a cure for this horrible disease, but unfortunately there's not much we can do now."

"Are you sure?" He asked and she nodded.

"I saw relief in his eyes when I told them to stop. That we weren't going through with the procedure. And that's when I knew that I made the right choice. I left the operating room and went to talk with his parents and explained to them that I wasn't willing to continue with the procedure..."

She paused but Mulder could tell there was more she wanted to say. He slid a little closer to her and took her hands in his, squeezing them.

"A few days ago they told me that they didn't want to continue with the treatment. Back then I still believed it was the wrong choice and they told me that I would understand if I were a mother." She swallowed hard. "I couldn't tell them the truth, but it hurt because I wanted to save this boy because I am a mother."

He squeezed her hands even tighter at this, knowing how much these words must have hurt her.

"When I was looking at Christian this morning I realized that his parents want the same thing I wanted for William. I let him go to save him, knowing that was the only way. And it was selfish to think that I could save Christian. His parents were willing to let him go, to spare him the pain coming with the procedure and let him go in peace."

She was silent after that and he looked at her. He could tell that she still wasn't completely sure it was the right choice. Debating with herself if she did the right thing. Like she still doubted if she made the right choice in letting William go sometimes.

"I think that was a really brave choice." He said and she lifted her head to meet his eyes.

"But what if could save him?" She asked the one question she desperately wanted an answer to.

"I think you know that you can't, otherwise you would have gone through with the surgery today," he said. "I know you Scully. You never give up on anything, unless you're sure that there's no hope left. I trust that you made the right choice. That you did what's right for this boy. And I want you to believe that yourself. You have to have a little faith in yourself Scully."

She forced a smile. "Thank you."

He smiled and kissed her. She moved closer to him and pulled him into an embrace and he held her tight until she pulled away herself, minutes later.

"So, what have you been up to today?" She asked, ready to change the subject.

"The usual." He replied. "Found some interesting articles in the paper that I cut out and put on my wall. And I did some research on how to write a book."

That definitely caught her attention. "A book?"

"You told me to write a book. About the things we've been through while being on the X-Files."

"I know I said that. But I didn't think you would actually do it."

"I'm not sure yet if I will. But I figured it wouldn't hurt to at least find out how to do it. I mean, you could just start writing but maybe you need a whole plan and I just wanted to know how others do it."

She smiled. "What made you change your mind?"

"What happened the past few days. And our little talk before you left this morning."

Now it was her turn to wait until he found the right words to voice his thoughts. She patiently waited while she played with the fingers of his right hand.

After a while he said. "When you told me you weren't coming home the other day, I was so mad at you. That you were willing to give up on us, just because I was helping the FBI with this case. But I thought about it for a long time and realized that it wasn't really what you wanted. I knew it the when you saved my life. From the way you put your hand on my cheek and the fear I saw in your eyes. And it wasn't only fear I saw in them, it was love as well.

Part of me was scared you wouldn't take me home from the hospital, or that you would leave after you drove me home but last night you stayed and you placed your head on my chest when we went to sleep."

She looked at him seriously. "I never really considered leaving you. And when you said we couldn't be together… that really broke my heart."

"I know it did. I knew that you telling me why you fell in love with me was a peace offering but I wasn't willing to let you back in so easily. I was mad that you didn't understand me and who I am. But then I realize that if anyone does, it's you Scully.

You've always been by my side. You were assigned to me all these years ago to spy on me but instead of spying on me you were beside me, working with me and trying so hard to find the truth. But during our quest we've been hurt in so many ways and came close to losing our lives on several occasions."

He stopped for a moment when he saw her closing her eyes, trying to block all the images his words evoked. He carefully wiped a stray of hair out of her face and placed it behind her ear.

"All I ever wanted was to find answers to my questions and I did that through the FBI. After college that's all I ever wanted and all I ever knew how to do. The past six years I lived in isolation and it was nice to be out of the house again and do the one thing I'm good at. But I understand more than anything what it did to you. Why you want to stay away from it so desperately.

What they took from us through all these years can never be replaced. There are so many empty holes in our hearts and you're the one thing that fills the hole in mine."

He stopped once again as he saw how her eyes filled with tears and carefully wiped one that slipped down her cheek away with his thumb.

"I've thought about the things we said to each other the past few days, and I don't ever want to be without you. I'd follow you everywhere around the world and now that I'm no longer wanted by the FBI, it's time I get out of the house by myself and find out what else I'm good at. It was easy for you to become a doctor after leaving the FBI, because you already were a doctor. You just never practiced medicine. But it was something you were good at, because you saved my life more than once. And I'm sure there are other things I'm good at too. Maybe it is writing a book, or maybe it's something completely different. But I'm willing to find out."

A genuine smile now appeared on her face. "So no more FBI business?"

"No more darkness." He replied. And then pulled something out of his pocket.

Scully gasped when she saw the small box, not even daring to think what it held inside.

"When I was thinking about what I want to do with the rest of my life today there were so many questions. But there is one thing I'm certain of, and that is that I want to spend it with you."

"Mulder…" She said, but he placed his index finger on her lips to stop her.

"Shhh… it's my turn to speak."

She nodded, letting him know she would remain quiet until he allowed her to speak.

"Everything I've been through the past 15 years wouldn't have meant anything if you wouldn't have been by my side. I don't think I say it enough, but I love you. I don't remember the exact moment I fell in love with you, but I do know that I fell in love with your strength and your determination. No matter what we've been through, you never gave up. You never gave up on me. And I want you to know, that I'll never give up on us. I want to be beside you for the rest of my life. To prove to you that you are the most important thing in my life, I went out and bought this today."

He handed her the box and she took it from him with shaking fingers.

"Come on, open it." He pressed, a smile on a his face.

It took some effort because her fingers wouldn't stop shaking, but she finally managed to open the box and once again gasped when she saw what it contained. "Mulder." She whispered, looking up at him with questioning eyes.

He took the box from her and took out the ring, carefully placing the box back in his pocket. "Will you marry me Scully?" He asked.

Her eyes filled with tears, and for the first time today they were tears of happiness, not sadness. Nodding she said. "Yes, I'll marry you."

He slipped the ring on her finger and then pulled her towards him for a long kiss.

When they finally pulled away he said: "That's not the only thing I bought."

"There's more?" she asked, surprised.

He stood up and walked to his office and came back with an envelope. "Here, open it." He said, as he handed it to her.

She opened the envelope and inside she found travel documents. She carefully read them. "A trip to the Caribbean?"

"I figured you would say yes to my proposal so I went ahead and booked a flight for our honeymoon."

"But it's in two weeks." She said, checking the date.

"Well, that's when your vacation starts right?" He asked and she nodded. "Besides, there not many people we can invite to our wedding anyway. You're not that close to the people you work with and it's not like we have any friends. And I'm sure the only person of our old job you would even consider asking is Skinner. So I went ahead and asked him and he said he'll come. I hope that's okay with you."

She nodded. "I'd like for him to be there. And the only other person I want there is you. So just give me a time and a date and I'll be there. Just give me a few days to find a dress."

_-xxx Two weeks later xxx-_

Scully watched Mulder as he rowed the boat towards the island. It was mesmerizing how the sunlight fell upon them. The only sounds surrounding them were those of the water moving from the peddles and of the birds flying high above them.

Neither of them had spoken in a while. They just enjoyed the warmth of the sunbeams on their bodies, and the silence that surrounded them. It's been a long time since they were on vacation. In fact, they'd never taken a vacation together. All the trips they'd been on together were work related, and once they left the FBI, they couldn't risk it.

When they reached the coast Mulder helped her out of the boat, before pulling the boat in the sand and finding a tree to tie it. Even though he wouldn't mind spending the rest of his life with Scully on a deserted island, he still wouldn't risk losing the boat. As appealing as it sounded now after everything they'd been through, he was sure they wanted to go back to the real world some time.

After that he helped Scully taking their things out of the boat and they build up the tent they brought. Their new home for the next two weeks. Once everything was settled and they had a self-made dinner it was starting to become dark.

"Join me at the water?" Mulder asked and Scully nodded. She grabbed a bottle of wine and two glasses out of their tent and sat down next to Mulder. He took the bottle from her, opened it and filled both their glasses.

"This is the perfect place to watch the sunset." Scully said and Mulder nodded.

"Doesn't it scare you?" He asked and she looked at him, curious.

"Why would the sunset scare me?"

"Because we're all alone on this small island and soon it will be dark."

She smiled, knowing what he was referring to. "No, it doesn't scare me. Because it's just night and I know that tomorrow morning the sun will appear just as beautiful as she sets and if we're lucky, we'll be able to see that on the other side of this island. Besides, your with me. So I have no reason to be scared."

He chuckled as he clinked his glass against hers. "Cheers."

"What are we toasting to?" She asked.

"Our future." He said, before taking a sip of his wine and then he pulled her towards him for a kiss. When they broke the kiss she sat down next to him, resting her head on his shoulder and he put his arm around hers. Together they watched the sunset, knowing that the next morning would the sun would come back and leave the darkness of the night behind. And as they sat there together, they both knew that this was all they needed for the rest of their lives. 'Each other.'

_The End!_


End file.
